Montreal, January 24, 2014 — From November 25 to December 5 2013, Health Canada conducted its annual inspection of the Montreal facility as well as the Centre Laval GLOBULE Blood Donor Centre, following which their establishment licences were renewed.

One observation for the Centre Laval GLOBULE Blood Donor Centre and nine observations for the Montreal facility without a major impact on product safety were issued by the inspectors. Corrective measures have already been taken or will be taken shortly.

These results reflect once again that Héma-Québec meet the strictest standards and security measures and demonstrates that blood product, stem cells and human tissues safety is a constant priority.

Health Canada audits are designed to ensure compliance with safety measures and with the requirements stipulated in its operating licence. Inspections are conducted every year at Héma-Québec’s Montréal and Québec facilities, and the GLOBULE Blood Donor Centres are closely examined every two years.

About Héma-Québec

Héma-Québec's mission is to efficiently provide adequate quantities of safe, optimal blood components, substitutes, human tissues and cord blood to meet the needs of all Quebecers; to provide and develop expertise along with specialized and innovative services and products in the fields of transfusion medicine and human tissue transplantation.

Héma-Québec encompasses 1,300 employees, over 300,000 donor visits to blood drives per year, 16,000 volunteers and more than 500,000 blood products delivered annually to Québec hospitals to meet the needs of patients.